


Names We Use, Names We Choose

by indigo_inks



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Childhood, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Kylo Ren Backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22561189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigo_inks/pseuds/indigo_inks
Summary: After learning the origin of the name "Solo" from his father, Ben decides to choose a new name.
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren & Han Solo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Names We Use, Names We Choose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kim_onka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kim_onka/gifts).



Once, Ben tried asking his father about his grandfather. His father was less than forthcoming.

“Who, Dad? Oh, he used to work in the shipyards on Corellia. Low-level, assembly line stuff.” He shrugged. “Nothing special.”

“Why haven’t I met him?”

“Can’t meet a guy who ain’t alive anymore,” his father replied. “Well. Unless you got Force mumbo-jumbo on your side like your uncle Luke.”

“Oh.” Ben stopped to think. His grandfather on his mother’s side – his real grandfather, that is, his mother’s father by birth – was also dead. His mother’s father had been a Jedi Knight and a hero of the Clone Wars. She didn’t talk about him much, and “Force mumbo-jumbo” notwithstanding, Ben had never met him either. He did at least know his name, though. It was Anakin Skywalker. “So what was Granddad’s name? Something ‘Solo,’ right?” he asked.

His father looked weirdly uncomfortable. “No…” He squirmed a bit, but Ben kept his eyes wide and unblinking. Eventually, his father continued speaking. “Solo’s a name I started using after me and Dad parted ways. It began as a kind of joke, but after a while I realized it suited me better than anything I’d gone by before.”

“Does that mean I could go by a different name someday, too?” Ben asked. If the name “Solo” had started as a joke, what reason was there for Ben to keep it?

“Well…” His father scratched his head. These were deeper thoughts than he was typically accustomed to, Ben knew. “Names are about family. I’m Han Solo, and you’re my son. But if someday you decide to use a different name that you’ve chosen for yourself because it suits you better…” Han shrugged. “I guess that’s okay, too.”

“Oh. I see.”

When his father turned their conversation towards other topics, Ben didn’t protest. Later, though, as he lay in bed that night, he reflected upon what had been said. He didn’t appreciate learning that his name had been a joke; choosing a new name for himself struck him as an attractive alternative. But names were about family, too; that only seemed right.

Ben’s mother was a Skywalker, and his father had chosen the name Solo. Hmm… Maybe if Ben could combine the two names…

“Kylo,” Ben whispered to the ceiling of his bedroom. “ _Perfect_.”


End file.
